I don't want to see the same events happening in the Middle East. Analysts have told Insider that the move appearsto be part of a power play by Crown Prince Mohammed, amid perceptions that US influence in the region is waning. [19] In March 2007, foreign ministers of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council met in Saudi Arabia to discuss progress in plans agreed in December 2006, for a joint civilian nuclear program.[20]. Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight. Officials in the U.S. alliance believe Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have an understanding in which Islamabad would supply the kingdom with warheads if security in the Persian Gulf was threatened. Take Lebanon for example where the Shias are quite probably in an absolute majority now, and yet have the smallest share of the sectarian political pie. Khilewi's allegations have not been confirmed by any other source. The choice of Mr. Shamkhani, who is ethnically Arab and speaks Arabic, as an envoy for diplomacy with Arab countries indicates that the shift to a less confrontational stance in the region is endorsed by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who directs the Supreme National Security Council. The underlying question is the potential for the future proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. The news was first reported by CNN on Thursday. Recent field studies have shown promising uranium resources in the kingdom, he said during a speech at the Future Minerals Forum held in Riyadh in January. [13], In January 2012, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed a mutual cooperation deal on nuclear energy with King Abdullah, during Premier Jiabao's visit to the Middle East. This potentially reduces the probability of a nuclear deal with the U.S.[30], in May 2018, Al Jazeera media reported the statement from the former director of Al Arabiya TV, Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, who wrote in the Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper an article while accompanying Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his recent visit to Washington that no one can confirm if Saudi Arabia is capable of building a nuclear weapon yet. [1][2][3] Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia has made steps towards a nuclear program[4][5] and according to some observations, they can be used to develop nuclear weapons. After defecting to the United States in 1994, Saudi diplomat Mohammad al Khilewi claimed that Saudi Arabia started a nuclear weapons program chaired by Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz following the Yom Kippur War and that it also financially and technologically assisted the Iraqi nuclear weapons program. He wants to create his own project in the Middle East very much like Hitler who wanted to expand at the time. But we now live in an increasingly multi-polar world order in which other nations have greater agency and an increased ability to secure the interests of their elite than was the case during the Cold War and immediate post-Cold War eras, he added. Gary Samore, who until March 2013 was President Barack Obama's counter-proliferation adviser, told BBC Newsnight: "I do think that the Saudis believe that they have some understanding with Pakistan that, in extremis, they would have claim to acquire nuclear weapons from Pakistan. Besides, it appointed the Finland- and Swiss-based Poyry consultancy company in order to assist define "high-level strategy in the area of nuclear and renewable energy applications" with desalination. [3] [1][2] Studies of nuclear proliferation have not identified Saudi Arabia as a country of concern. 8 min read. Saudi Arabia will develop nuclear weapons if its arch-rival Iran does so, the kingdom's crown prince said in remarks released on Thursday, raising the prospect of a A man in Tehran holds a local newspaper reporting on its front page the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March 11, 2023, in Tehran, Iran. / CBS News, The next leader of Saudi Arabia says his country would quickly obtain a nuclear bomb if arch rival Iran successfully develops its own nuclear weapon. With the Saudis and the Chinese backing Iran, would this new alliance positively or negatively impact the long-outstanding Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal with Iran and the P-5, plus Germany and the European Union (EU)? Saudi Arabia is building its own ballistic missiles with the help of China, according to United States intelligence assessments and satellite images. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication. Dr M.V. [7], It is widely believed that Saudi Arabia has been a major financier of Pakistan's own integrated atomic bomb project since 1974, a program founded by former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. [Photo by Wang Jing / China Daily]. Mr. Kanaani said the region would benefit from greater cooperation and good relations between Egypt and Iran. In particular, lawmakers have expressed concern about Saudi Arabia's pursuit of nuclear weapons and a lack of oversight on these agreements. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after seven years of hostility. Apart from the diplomacy between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the other notable feature of this development is that China brokered it. Revealed: Saudi Arabia may have enough uranium ore to produce nuclear fuel Confidential Chinese report seen by the Guardian intensifies concerns about possible In 2013, BBC reported using multiple sources that Saudi Arabia has funded nuclear weapons development in Pakistan,[11][12] and various sources also told BBC Persian, regarding Saudi government belief that they are able to gain nuclear weapons at will. The United Nations said on Wednesday that the deal had created a momentum for renewed peace talks on Yemen. Participation in the Biological Weapons Convention, Saudi Arabia and weapons of mass destruction, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, Disease as a Weapon: Assessing the international methods of ensuring biological weapons nonproliferation, KSA takes first step towards nuclear plant tender: sources, "Pakistan, Saudi Arabia in secret nuke pact Islamabad trades weapons technology for oil", "U.S. lawmakers press for oversight of any Saudi nuclear deal", "Saudi crown prince: If Iran develops nuclear bomb, so will we", "Saudi nuclear weapons 'on order' from Pakistan", 3. However, Saudi Arabia has also made moves to appease the US, announcing large aid packages to Ukraine, a US ally, in its war against Russia, and announcing a deal with Boeing last weekto build a fleet of new airliners which the White House praised. Fitzpatrick, a former State Department official, said at the time that other than a general desire to keep pace with Iran, Riyadhs motivations for acquiring ballistic missiles were not entirely clear. The development could shift security calculations in the Middle East and further complicate the Biden administrations efforts to coax Iran back into its nuclear deal with world powers. And yet in order to make up with the Saudis and Israel theyll have to give up the bomb and leave themselves without any defence against the West. We believe in the free flow of information. Some Arab neighbors have forged ties with Israel, [11] Riyadh has been accused of following nuclear,[7][6] despite being a follower of IAEA,[12] NPT[13] and OPCW. [32] These actions are a threat to regional and international security and we call on Iran to immediately cease its activities, the Foreign Office said in a statement. The Gulf Monarchies for their part retaliated by encouraging and then funding Saddam Husseins invasion and bloody eight year long war with Iran. At this meeting, Bhutto noted the advances made in the Israeli and the Indian nuclear programs, which he took as attempts to intimidate the Muslim world. Lets examine each of the points raised above. [i] Saudi foreign minister: 'All bets off' if Iran gets nuclear weapon | Reuters, [ii] Frozen ice melts: China bridges Iran-Saudi ties in the new era - Tehran Times. The seven years of hostilities did not benefit our interests at all.. Mohammed bin Salman reportedly believes it will help him secure US nuclear technology. Saphora Smith is a London-based reporter for NBC News Digital. [14], Riyadh officials had travels to France and Russia and signed several transactions, among establishment of atomic foundations in Saudi Arabia. In the past, Saudi Arabias de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been clear that if Tehran develops a nuclear bomb, Riyadh will also do so. MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN: Because he wants to expand. [7] Shortly thereafter, Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Sultan went with Prime Minister Sharif on a tour of a classified institute, the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), where leading scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan briefed the Prince and Prime Minister Sharif on nuclear physics and sensitive issues involving nuclear explosive devices. WebNuclear Power in Saudi Arabia. Last week, it brokered talks. Meanwhile, the continued close military relationship between Saudi Arabia and China will also probably be of concern to the Biden administration as it tries to manage a complex and fraught relationship with Beijing, criticizing its human rights record while also cooperating with Chinese leaders on major global threats like climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. Saudi Arabia plans to develop its own nuclear power industry using local uranium, according to energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. It is a huge regional win for Tehran, since this vindicates the idea that maximum pressure has failed, said Sanam Vakil, the deputy director of the Middle East North Africa program at Chatham House, a London-based research group, referring to Mr. Trumps campaign to force Iran to end its nuclear program and regional meddling. Since its [31] However, the news former director has pointed out that Riyadh owns uranium materials in its desert, and has adopted a plan to extract it within 2030. Mr. Shamkhani said the Saudi-Iran deal would counter Israels nefarious activities in the Persian Gulf. Although it doesn't allow to access equipment required to process Uranium, it allows the 6 companies involved to do preliminary work on nuclear power ahead of any deal. Whos in Control of How We Remember the Iraq War? 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